1 All items and boxes must be labelled, BUT all the destination rooms should also be labelled (except maybe kitchen) because removalists don't know from the first second which is "Kid1 Bedroom" etc. In the case of furniture, it is really worthwhile having a rough floor plan worked out beforehand where you want the furniture pieces. This way removalists can do their job without you having to stand there giving instructions. 2. If you have a big enough car, bring all the important things like coffee machine, boiler, cups, drinks, lunch supplies, vacuum cleaner, as well as documents, cameras, jewellery by yourself. Fill your Esky or camping fridge with the cold stuff from the fridge. 3. Definitely de-junk before you go. OR designate a space in the old house for things you WONT take, and deal with that later. Between now and your moving day, try to consume as much as you can from the fridge. 4. Pre-pack as many things as you can before moving day. Don't skimp on wrapping paper for fragile items. Once we had to move on a really, really hot day. We got everything unloaded into the empty double garage first, and then later moved things into the house. This helped the house stay a lot cooler. Have a good move!

This was a hard choice :-) the thought of someone cooking for me and I learning from them nearly won me over but I really need a new kitchen as I am still working with the old kitchen that came with the house that my parents bought. dad and I are looking at building our own kitchen so I have been collecting ideas into a folder that we both like and once we are settled on the design then we are going to build it ourselves :-)

Bump.

oklouise thanks for the ideas. We have actually really thought about the zoning. We want the two bedrooms on the southern side with a bathroom between for privacy. We also want the eastern lounge room to pop out as a dining room in that spot will waste a gorgeous view. We had a straight alfresco and thought it was all a bit hohum. I will attach the first and second drafts to see where we have come from. The first draft we had drawn was too boring for us ... Garry hated draft 2 as he thought it was too wide for solar access and didn't give cross ventilation (north to south or vv). It's only positive was the flow of west/east cross ventilation. Also the bathroom was too tucked away for guest use when we are using that nice alfresco area. We quickly scrapped all those ideas... LOL As I said, we like skillion roof lines and are planning on clerestory windows to maximise northern sun. Some raked ceilings will probably happen too (and definitely 9 foot ceilings in living areas). the mudroom/laundry will probably be incorporated into the hallway. Unlike some on this forum previously I don't object to entering through the laundry. It kind of gives a landing spot for groceries from the car on those cold days you don't want to leave the whole house open. The garage may actually be a carport to ensure we can have ventilation come through that way and to help us with budget.